2 Boston Red Sox The rotation is rearmed and dangerous--but to opponents or themselves?

Joe Kerrigan left his middling career as a professional pitcherin 1982, taking a bum shoulder home to Philadelphia. He was 28."My arm was dead," he says. This was before managers and pitchingcoaches cared much about pitch counts and how many days in a rowyou worked. Kerrigan took a job pouring concrete at aconstruction site for a waste management facility. To supplementhis income he would scavenge his mother's attic and basement forknickknacks to sell at a flea market. On a good weekend he wouldpocket 50 bucks.

All these years later Kerrigan's labor still reflects the lessonslearned from his early exit from the game. Now the pitching coachsavant of the Red Sox, he not only is fanatically protective ofhis pitchers' health, but also continues to dabble in theconsignment business--though he no longer must root around therecesses of his mother's house. Boston general manager DanDuquette finds him plenty of second-hand merchandise from theunwanted bin. This year is no different, with the young (PaxtonCrawford, Tomo Ohka), the aged (Rolando Arrojo, David Cone, HideoNomo) and the infirm (Frank Castillo, Bret Saberhagen) all vyingfor spots in the rotation behind Pedro Martinez.

"We went to the playoffs two years ago by piecing the stafftogether," says Kerrigan, under whom Boston has finished second,first and first in the league in ERA, its best run in nearly acentury (1902-04). "I'm as comfortable with this group as any."

The Red Sox are a contender despite what the behavioralscientists might call "issues." The middle of the order isfearsome--shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, rightfielder Manny Ramirezand centerfielder Carl Everett ranked 5-3-4 in the league inslugging against righthanders last year. Atop the order, however,there are unsettling questions. Second baseman Jose Offerman, thepreferred leadoff hitter, must rebound from the worst of his fiveAL seasons, during which he was thrown out in all eight of hisstolen base attempts. Other potential trouble spots include ashaky infield defense, a bullpen in need of a lefthander andquestions about the durability of Garciaparra, who has sat out 77games over the past four seasons and has been sidelined sinceFeb. 26 with a right wrist injury that may require surgery.

What's most uncertain, though, is who will follow the inimitableMartinez in the rotation. Nothing new there. In 2000 Bostonstarters threw the fewest innings of any rotation in the majors,and other than Martinez, the Red Sox haven't had a pitcher win asmany as 11 games in either of the last two seasons. Do they haveanybody who can give their ace better support? "Yes," Duquettesays. "My pick would be either Nomo or Ohka." Here's the best ofthe bric-a-brac that the Boston G.M. has given Kerrigan.

Nomo. He still has quality stuff. "But he threw only 54%first-pitch strikes," Kerrigan points out. "After the count's 0and 1, batters hit .192 against him. After it's 1 and 0, they hit.298."

Cone. The 38-year-old righty won four times in 29 starts lastyear, and hitters pounded him at a .306 clip. After 2,745 careerinnings he plans to empty whatever's left in his tank. "I'drather stay around too long and suffer a little embarrassmentthan walk away too soon," says Cone, who is battling soreness inhis pitching shoulder. Says Kerrigan, "If he can throw hisfastball 86 to 88 [mph], he'll be fine."

Castillo. "He's pitched only 22 [big league] games over the lastthree years in the second half. Now why is that?" says Kerrigan,who has been examining Castillo's routines between starts, hisconditioning and his weight training. "If he stays healthy, we'vegot a good pitcher."

Ohka. "He can put that cross-seam fastball on the outside corneron lefthanders any time," Kerrigan says. "We've got to get him tosettle on a breaking ball [curve or slider] and go to it."

Arrojo. "Seventy-two percent of his pitches were fastballs,"Kerrigan says of Arrojo, who will start the year in the bullpen."I've never heard of a number that high. Between pitches 30 and50 they hit .319 against him. That tells me, the second timearound the order, hitters know what to expect. They're gettingfastballs. We've got to get him to use his slider and changeup."

So another season full of tinkering looms for Kerrigan. For now,his staff is better suited for a lyricist than matching up withthe Yankees. Pedro, Nomo, Tomo, Arrojo, Castillo. Oh, no!

--T.V.

COLOR PHOTO: DAMIAN STROHMEYER Pedro's compadres in the starting rotation are iffy, but he'll get a boost from a retooled lineup; last year's scored seven runs in his six losses.COLOR PHOTO: CHUCK SOLOMON RAMIREZ

[ENEMY LINES]an opposing team's scout sizes up the Red Sox

"The Sox are probably the league's biggest "wait and see"club--they could be good or they could implode. They're tryinghard to make deals because they don't think they can win withthe guys they have now. Their biggest problem is they have twoguys they don't like, Mike Lansing and Rolando Arrojo, chewingup roster spots and payroll....They have talent--the bestpitcher in baseball [Pedro Martinez], a dominant closer [DerekLowe] and thunder in the middle of the lineup [NomarGarciaparra, Manny Ramirez, Carl Everett]--but there arecaveats. Everett missed a team bus in camp, and you always haveto see how he affects team chemistry....The bullpen is good fromthe right side, with Rich Garces and Hipolito Pichardo, butthey're going to miss Rheal Cormier from the left side....Theinfield defense was dreadful this spring; the $12.5 milliontandem at second base, Lansing and Jose Offerman, is porous. IfGarciaparra is out for a while, it hurts big time. They're inthe market for a backup shortstop with a good glove....How willRamirez ever play rightfield at Fenway Park? Trot Nixon is theirbest defensive outfielder, but he gets aced out of the startinglineup unless Troy O'Leary is dealt....You wonder how Ramirezwill react when the fans get on him the first time he peels offinto the dugout instead of running hard down the line? You canget away with that in Cleveland, not in Boston.... Jimy Williamsis a superior manager, but he has a tough juggling act in termsof talent, and an even tougher juggling act in terms of teamcohesion."